The annual Japanese Classic Car Show remains the best -- and on -- regular display of vintage Pacific steel in the U.S.

Lucky Seven from Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car

It wasn't that long ago--2005, really--that the nascent, underground vintage Japanese collector-car movement burst forth into the public consciousness with the first annual Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS). For many, the notion of a classic Japanese car seems impossible, yet with the nation's cars on our shores now for more than half a century, it surprises us that there isn't more interest. Maybe it was the way that salted roads devoured them in the Midwest and on the Eastern seaboard; maybe it was their appliance image, bought by non-car people and somehow not special enough to deserve saving. Even in car-crazy Los Angeles, they're a relative rarity.
Yet there are now entire generations who grew up with Japanese cars, either in this country or abroad, who can't remember them not being around. For them, the nostalgic tug at the heart is as strong as it is for any other car or marque. And prices, though they've risen, haven't yet gotten to mortgage-the-house money.
The seventh annual JCCS, held September 10, 2011, at the Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach, California, brought out all manner of pre-1985 Japan-made iron. You could see Japan's evolution as a car-building empire from a single grassy knoll; theirs is a tale of evolution, with cars growing in scale, power and comfort with each successive generation. Start with Toyopet Crowns and Datsun 311 Bluebirds; move up through the '60s, with more luxurious Toyota Crowns, sporty Datsun Roadsters and 510s, then into the '70s, when Toyota Celicas and Corollas, Datsun Z-cars, Honda Z Coupes and N600s, and sporty rotary Mazda coupes fired the imaginations of a fuel-crisis-weary America. And Japanese cars became serious GT contenders in the early '80s with ZX Turbos and twin-cam Celica Supras.
Original and preserved, restored to new, or modified to suit the owner's taste, the steel took a resounding leap up the quality scale. Early on, there were as many primered fenders and Navajo-blanket interiors as there were well-preserved vintage models. This year, the cars were, with little exception, of a uniformly high quality. The JDM contingent was out in force as well: Toyota Soarers, an '80s Crown, genuine hakosuka and kenmeri Skyline GT-Rs, a turbo Mirage sedan...and plenty of fender-mounted mirrors, a piece of shorthand that announces "I'm serious about old Japanese cars."
What remains most remarkable about JCCS is the real spirit of community, despite the show's growth. There is always an atmosphere of respect, not competition or snide marque snobbery. Remember the old Jeff Foxworthy joke about the Ford vs. Chevy fistfight breaking out in the stands at the monster truck rally? Nothing like that will ever happen here. Across marques and across generations, everyone comes together in the spirit of enjoying and furthering the old Japanese car movement. It's a tight community, and everyone treats each other with respect.
After the 2005 show, we told the world that JCCS was a show to watch. With imitators popping up here and there, and with the Japanese vintage car movement finally reaching beyond Datsun Zs and 510s and starting to catch some momentum in this country, this remains the show that all others will model themselves after--a destination event if you've got even a whiff of old-car interest in your blood.
The 2012 show will be held September 15. Check www.japaneseclassiccarshow.com for details.

This article originally appeared in the January, 2012 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.